The invention relates to a receiving device for picking up objects by means of a gripper, a receiving means and transfer means each comprising such a receiving device, and a workstation and method for their operation. Devices and methods of this type are used in chemical, biological and medical laboratories for handling samples, in particular for preparing for centrifuging said samples.
WO-A-98/01 760 discloses a gripper having a gripper clamp which is suitable for gripping sample tubes. By means of the gripper, individual sample tubes can therefore be moved from a sample tube rack to a sample tube bucket, which is then introduced into a centrifuge. To enable this too to be effected by means of the gripper, the sample tube buckets must be provided with a cylindrical handle, i.e. must be specially designed.
WO-A-90/08 326 discloses a workstation comprising a gripper which is suitable for gripping entire rotors which are suitable for use in centrifuges and are loaded and unloaded by means of a separate processing unit outside the centrifuge, and for inserting said rotors into said centrifuge and for removing them from said centrifuge. The use of sample tube buckets is not envisaged. The design of the workstation is relatively complicated.
It is the object of the invention to provide a receiving device which makes it possible, by means of a gripper which is suitable for directly gripping sample tubes, also to pick up and to move other objects, in particular sample tube buckets, without these having to be specially adapted to the gripper. It is also intended to provide a receiving means which furthermore comprises a holding device in which the receiving device can be placed so that it can be easily and securely approached and gripped by the gripper.
It is also intended to provide a transfer device for picking up, moving and setting down individual sample tubes, which transfer device can pick up and move both individual sample tubes and other objects, in particular customary sample tube buckets, by means of a single gripper. Finally, it is intended to provide a workstation in which in particular the feeding, distribution and centrifuging of sample tubes is substantially facilitated, and a method for its operation which is suitable for this purpose.
These objects are achieved by the invention as characterized in the claims. A gripper suitable for gripping and moving sample tubes is supplemented by the receiving device or receiving means according to the invention to give a transfer device according to the invention, which device, inter alia, also permits rapid loading of a centrifuge by relatively economical means since it can also handle sample tube buckets. After the distribution of the sample tubes over the sample tube buckets, the latter can therefore also be introduced into the centrifuge by means of the same transfer device, permitting significant savings.
The workstation according to the invention combines the features of a plurality of components according to the invention to give a configuration particularly suitable for rapidly carrying out the centrifuging step, in particular by the method according to the invention, and is furthermore relatively economical. It can also be suitably designed for carrying out further processing steps.